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There’s no shortage of films and TV series covering Barack and Michelle Obama’s lives and legacy, from Netflix’s “Becoming,” — a documentary portrait of the former first lady released by the pair’s own production company, Higher Ground — to the scripted romance “Southside With You” and the “Frontline” political biography of the 44th president, “Dreams of Obama.” So when HBO announced its three-part series “Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union,” it was hard to imagine what new material or insights, if any, it had to offer.
And at the outset, the first installment, which premieres Tuesday, is deceptive. It feels like another ode to a beloved president and a favored subject among filmmakers. He is, after all, an irresistible subject: a Black man with a Muslim name who won election to the White House, twice, in a nation that has yet to deal with its racist past — and present. He’s a font of eloquent speeches and quick-witted jokes, and his life is filled with the sort of dramatic obstacles that seem made for the screen. Plus, there’s ample footage of his ascent, from his work as a community organizer in Chicago to his run for the state and then the U.S. Senate.